How to write so you won't Be Ignored

And, before you ask, yes. You definitely have been and will be ignored.

Drowning In Data

Scale

1 zettabyte is

1000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes

For context: that's 1 billion terabytes (which is a lot of movies).

Nobody is immune

Earlier this year, a study found that 31% of World Bank reports had never been

downloaded by anybody. That's a lot of work done for nothing.

So what should you do?

Don't mumble

Plan, plan again, then plan some moreMost people “write badly because they cannot think clearly.” (H.L. Mencken)

Keep your language clearJargon is an invitation for your reader to

ignore you.

Avoid the passive voiceDon't say 'it is recommended', say 'I

recommend'.

Write how you speak

A good rule of thumbInstead of writing something down right away, imagine that you're discussing it

with a smart friend with no specific topical or technical knowledge.

Now write down what you would say.

Edit Ruthlessly

“the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.”

Dr Seuss

Three easy tipsWrite today, edit tomorrow.

Print paper copies.Ask others.

Sad but true: formatting matters

Use headings and sub-headingsPeople scan to the sections they're

interested in. Help them out!

For your main body text, use a serif fontSans fonts tire the eyes out more quickly.

Never use more than three fontsNobody wants to read like this

Good writing sounds better“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words.

Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The

writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.

Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a

harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the

reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy

and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say

listen to this, it is important.”

Further Reading

Writing That Works (3rd Edition)By Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson